by Kent Jennings Brockwell
Staff Writer
When gas prices started to slowly but steadily rise over the summer, many people set a price for when they would start taking the bus to work.
But now that prices are hovering at $3 per gallon, a price many claimed would be their breaking point, are many people turning in their SUV keys for bus passes?
More than you might expect, said Jacksonville Transportation Authority spokesperson Mike Miller.
Now that the effects of Hurricane Katrina have quickly pushed gas prices to the limit for many people, Miller said JTA has experienced a definite jump in ridership over the past week.
Though he couldn’t give an exact number, Miller said JTA has strong evidence of increased popularity judging by the automatic passenger counters installed in some buses, an increased amount of calls to customer service and multiple anecdotal stories from drivers saying that they are picking up more passengers.
“All of that is pointing to a strong suggestion that we are seeing more ridership,” he said, adding that the link between higher gas prices and more bus passengers is more than coincidental.
And mass transit ridership hasn’t only increased in Jacksonville. Over the past several days, reports have sprung out of cities all over the country about increased bus and commuter train usage.
But with higher gas prices come higher operating costs for JTA considering that all of its buses and trolleys run on some sort of petroleum product. Miller said the fuel budget for JTA’s upcoming budget year, which begins in October, is more than $5 million. That is a major increase from this year’s $1.3 million fuel budget.
Though JTA officials have been meeting daily to see what they will do regarding the inflated fuel prices, Miller said no decision has been made yet regarding an increase in bus fares, which is currently set at 75 cents for most routes.
Decisions have been made, however, to increase the frequency of buses on some of JTA’s more popular routes and to boost advertising, Miller said.
“We will basically be creating a public awareness campaign to acquaint those people not using the buses to how easy it is to use the bus system,” he said.
Besides adding more buses to certain routes, Miller said JTA will be looking at some route restructuring and several increases in efficiency.